Brick Pointing in Kips Bay, Manhattan

Why Is the Mortar Failing on Kips Bay Buildings?

Mortar ages. Decades of rain, wind off the East River and freeze and thaw cycles wear joints down until they crumble. Kips Bay has two quite different brick stocks, older tenements and post war towers, and each shows its own pattern of failure.

Tenement walls on the side streets are old brick laid in soft lime mortar. The joints erode and let water in behind the face. Tower walls from the post war era use harder mortar, but their joints also crack at shelf angles, parapets and corners.

Sidewalk level matters too. Splash from the street and salt in winter attack the first few courses of a wall, so the base of a building often needs pointing sooner than the upper floors.

How Is a Wall Repointed in Kips Bay?

The crew removes old mortar to a set depth, cleans the joints and packs in new mortar in layers, then tools each joint to shed water. Loose bricks are reset first. The mix is chosen to match the strength and color of the existing masonry.

Hard mortar on soft old brick causes damage. For tenements we use a softer mix. For tower brick, the mortar can be stronger, but we still match color so the repair does not stand out.

Scaffolding and swing stages are normal on buildings of any height here. Sheds protect the sidewalk, and the setup follows city requirements, which we coordinate based on what the job needs.

Is the work noisy?

Grinding out mortar makes noise and dust. We use dust control and tell building management which hours to expect it.